Old Phone Cam: IP Camera

Old Phone Cam turns a phone you already own into a security camera on your own Wi-Fi.

No account. In local mode there is no cloud either, and the picture never leaves your network: the old phone runs a small web server, and you watch it from a browser, VLC or Home Assistant on the same Wi-Fi. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, because there is nowhere to upload it to.

Away from home, Premium+ adds remote viewing in the app. Two phones pair once with a QR code. The picture is decoded only on your own devices. The server in between carries encrypted packets and does not record them.

HOW IT WORKS
1. Open the app on the old phone and tap Start streaming.
2. Scan the QR code from the phone or computer you want to watch on, or type in the address it shows.
3. That is it. The picture is live.

WHAT IT DOES
. On your Wi-Fi, live picture in any browser. The watching device needs no app at all.
. Sound alongside the picture, off by default and only turned on deliberately.
. Records to the phone as MP4, while streaming or on its own.
. Works with VLC, Home Assistant, Frigate and anything else that reads MJPEG.
. The server asks for a token by default, and the QR code carries it, so someone else on the same Wi-Fi cannot simply guess the address.
. Keeps running with the screen off, with a notification you can stop it from.
. A thermal governor lowers the frame rate before the phone gets hot, and says so on screen.
. A dimming mode, so the old phone can sit on a shelf without lighting up the room.

FREE
720p streaming, one viewer at a time, a watermark on the picture, five minutes a clip and thirty minutes of recording a day. You can watch an ad to record for longer.

PREMIUM
. No watermark, on the stream and on the recordings
. The highest resolution your camera actually supports, 1080p and above
. Recording with no limit
. More than one viewer at once
. No ads

PREMIUM+
. Everything in Premium
. Remote viewing in the app, from outside your home
. 30 hours a month, or 60 hours with Premium+ 60 hours
. The camera phone needs the subscription. The phone you watch from needs the app and the pairing QR code, not a subscription
. Up to 3 camera phones per subscription. A camera that has not connected for 7 days frees its place
. Not included in Premium or in the one time purchase

How the hours work: each viewer counts on its own, so two people watching for one hour use two hours. Direct and relayed connections count the same. Hours reset on the first of each calendar month (UTC), and unused hours do not carry over.

The remote picture is up to 720p at 15 frames a second. On a relayed connection the app asks after 30 minutes whether you are still watching, and viewing pauses if nobody answers.

Premium is a subscription, monthly or yearly, and there is also a one time purchase if you would rather not subscribe at all. The yearly plan starts with a 7 day free trial. Premium+ is monthly only, with no free trial. Subscriptions renew automatically until cancelled, and you can cancel any time in Google Play.

WORTH KNOWING BEFORE YOU BUY
. Without Premium+ this is a local network tool. It works on your own Wi-Fi only, and it does not reach your camera from outside the house.
. Remote viewing needs internet on both phones and works only in the Old Phone Cam app, not in a browser, VLC or Home Assistant.
. While a phone runs as the remote camera, it does not stream to browsers or record clips.
. Anyone who has the pairing QR code can watch that camera while it is on, so keep the code to yourself.
. The remote camera shows a notification you can stop it from. On iPhone it runs only while the app is open and in the foreground.
. Recording or watching people who do not know about it may be against the law where you live. How you use it is your responsibility.

Privacy policy: https://oldphonecam.app/privacy
Terms: https://oldphonecam.app/terms